Page 120 of Into the Storm

“Analysis of the failed op has determined that, given the level of betrayal, it was an impossible mission. The Fire Team had no chance of success, and Lieutenant Flyte is to be commended for his actions in saving himself and Rivera and bringing Forsythe and Adams home.”

Flyte shifted in his seat, and Xavier knew the man was uncomfortable. There was no commendation for what happened in Belarus. No exoneration.

Captain Harlow resumed her seat. An admiral took over. “With this information, we’ve determined that the assault on the LOLE was unrelated to the attached operational mission. It appears the oligarch and mercenaries he hired knew nothing about the plan to extract the Russian scientist and her son.”

“Pearson didn’t know the purpose of the exercise?” Flyte asked, his voice showing the same surprise Xavier felt.

“He did not. His knowledge was limited to need to know for the LOLE, as is protocol, and he did not need to know the actual purpose of the training, just who was assigned and various parameters to make sure the proper equipment was available.” The admiral cleared his throat. “An analysis of the satellite phones and radios provided to the trainers and SEALs shows that the team was given substandard equipment. The combination of poor-quality phones and radios and advanced signal-blocking technology ensured that no one working the exercise would be able to make a call within the lake basin area. A better phone might have been able to make the call from a clearing on the hillside.”

Xavier let out a deep breath. They’d been sabotaged from every angle.

“Of note,” the admiral continued, “it’s clear that Russia’s signal-blocking technology is far ahead of ours, but with the blockers we recovered from the forest, we have already developed a device that we believe can reduce the efficacy of the blockers currently in place in the target property where the scientist and her son are being held.”

Xavier jolted.

The mission is a go?

The admiral addressed him directly. “Yes, Mr. Rivera. Between what we learned inadvertently in the disastrous training and the technology we’ve reverse engineered, we have learned what we need to extract the doctor and her son from Primorsky Krai. In that sense, the LOLE was a success. We’re watching the weather forecasts for heavy rain to provide cover. As soon as one rolls in, we have a team ready to do a HALO jump into the storm.”